Valuing curriculum-based international large-scale assessments: ensuring alignment with national curricula in IEA studies

Most national assessments in education focus on the curriculum to identify the knowledge and skills students should have acquired. Applying this approach to international assessments poses several challenges that need to be addressed in the design and implementation of international studies. This Compass Brief explains the advantages and challenges of a curriculum-based approach and outlines solutions implemented in IEA studies. To ensure that international large-scale assessments are adequate performance checks of education systems, they need to be based on the skills and content domains identified in the national curricula of the participating systems. The curriculum-based approach needs to build on close collaboration between national representatives and the testing organization to ensure adequate alignment with national curricula. The curriculum-based approach allows researchers and policymakers to draw inferences about the performance of education systems, including their ability to achieve the intended national curricula.